Red Trouble
by MidnightVoice
Summary: Eren is the red-haired trouble that nobody wants. She has a major attitude, and her past is unknown. So, what happens when she takes the Hunter Exam, and encounters Gon and the others? (OC based fanfic)
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first fanfic. I'm hoping it turns out okay. I wouldn't want to put this wonderful anime/manga to any disgrace.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter. I only own my OC and some future plot elements.**

**Prologue**

There was once a girl whose father was a great and powerful Hunter. Just mentioning his last name had struck fear in the hearts of criminals. He would often bring back treasures for his daughter and wife after each quest he took. Everyone saw him as a loving father, and amazing Hunter.

The girl wasn't known for much. People often recognized her last name because of her father's work, but not many people knew her for her. She was often recognized for her red hair, and the way she liked causing mischief. This earned her the nickname of Red Trouble. Although, she wasn't as bad a kid as she sounds. Her mother had poor health, and she was often seen taking care of her while her father was away.

As the girl grew older, her mother's condition had worsened. The mother soon caught a mysterious disease that, at that time, was incurable. Within a year, she died. This caused great grief among the family members. Her daughter was only seven when this happened. She had been the most effected. The girl's father had temporarily resigned from his duty as a Hunter.

During that time, he trained his daughter to be like him; Maybe even better. The training was intense, and unfortunately, the girl took up a bit after her mother. The training often put her on the edge of death. She still pushed through it, though.

At the time, she was naïve, and only aimed to make her father proud. She didn't realize until it was too late, that her father had gone mad. Nobody really realized it. That's why no one expected what happened next.

The girl and her father had gone missing. When the girl was found, two years later, she was bloody and fatigued. Several months later, the father was found dead, along with the corpses of many other adults and children that had gone missing. They had been found in an abandoned building that was supposedly an old laboratory of some sort. The building appeared to have burned down. They though this was the cause of death for all the unfortunate people there. There were about 250 dead bodies. Most of them were fairly unidentifiable (considering they had been burnt to ashes).

The question was, why were they all there? Who did this to them? Why did such an unfortunate disaster occur? More and more questions arose as rumors about the incident spread. Everyone turned to the lone survivor for answers.

Soon after she was found, the media kept asking about everything. The girl refused to talk about what happened. She moved to a secluded village to stay away from the media until the rumors died, and nobody really cared.

Nobody, but her, knew what happened. That girl's name was Eren Saito, and this is her life from then on.

**A/N: I apologize for any grammatical issues. Some people say I tend to be a bit repetitive so I'll try to fix that if it happens. I promise to make the actual chapters longer, too. The prologue is short because its only part of Eren's back story. The other part of her back story will be revealed in later chapters. Please review. I love reading your comments. I won't have any specific updating patterns for this. I'll try updating at least once or twice a week. **


	2. Let the Games Begin

**A/N: I want to say thank you to those that have read, reviewed, and followed this story. I didn't really expect anyone to read this when I started writing it. Just a heads up, this chapter may drag on a bit. I'll try to make it a lot more interesting as the story progresses. It's just really hard to figure out how to start this. Also, as you'll see below, I'm using Roman numerals for the chapter numbers. Well, enough babbling, let's move on to the next chapter of Red Trouble.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter. I only own Eren and some future plot elements. The day I own Hunter X Hunter will be the day people stop thinking Kurapika is a girl.**

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**I. Let the Games Begin**

As I stepped out of the elevator into the dusty tunnel, some of the other examinees stopped their nervous chatter to glare at me. I sent a stone cold glare back at a few, making them turn away.

Out of nowhere, a bean-shaped man came to hand me a tag with the number _21_ on it. "Wear this on your chest at all times. Be sure not to lose it," he told me. I nodded in agreement, and stared as he walked off. _Weird guy_, I thought.

Not really knowing what else to do, I started walking around, and examining my completion. Nobody really seemed to threatening. Most of them were too nervous to even look the slightest bit intimidating.

After about an hour or two (its hard to tell time when you're stuck in a dark tunnel with no watch), the tunnel began to get crowded. _this is starting to make me feel claustrophobic, _I thought, frowning a bit.

It's not like I'm actually claustrophobic, I just hate crowded places. Ironically, I hate being alone. Well, that's another story for another time.

With a sigh, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. _I've got some weird stuff going through my head, _I thought as I found a place to sit.

Everyone was still whispering nervously, and glaring at any new person to enter. That is, except for one. He was insanely creepy, and dressed like a clown. Or, more accurately, a pedo clown*. I heard that he failed last year's exam for nearly killing an examiner. Once again, I had been thinking of things I shouldn't. _I just need to hope that I don't encounter him anytime during the exam..._

Sighing, I continued looking around at the other examinees. There was this one overly friendly guy. If I recall correctly, I heard him call himself Tonpa. He tried talking to me earlier, but I glared at him, and he quickly backed away.

Now, he was talking to a trio. I listened to their conversation while still appearing casual just in case they looked my way. It was a pretty basic conversation; the same one he had with other examinees. He would introduce himself then try to point out some examinees that seemed "threatening" or out of the ordinary.

I just happened to fall into one of the two categories. I caught him glancing at me anxiously. He told the trio, "stay away from her. She's...dangerous. To say the least, anyways.." The tallest of the group began to question his statement. He called me "small" and "a little girl".

This majorly ticked me off. I absolutely _cannot_ stand it when people look down on me. I chuckled as an evil thought came to my mind. _Why don't I scare them a little? Then we'll see who's so 'little' and 'small'...no, no. I can't do that. I'll have to wait until the exam actually starts if I'm going to start a fight._ After that I started losing interest in them.

After a few more hours of doing absolutely nothing, I heard footsteps from the other side of the tunnel. _It's about time the examiner came. Too bad he's still pretty far away...maybe about four-hundred kilometers away, _I thought letting out an exasperated sigh. _Looks like I'm going to be here a while._

Once again, I took a glance at some other examinees. Tonpa was still acting as suspicious as ever. I already knew his aim. He's a "rookie crusher". This is supposed to be his thirty-fifth exam. At least, that's what I heard earlier. Some people do research, unlike me. Sometimes I tend to jump into situations before I realize the consequences. I'm not really considered the most responsible person. That's probably why I earned the nickname Red Trouble.

I had been a bit lost in thought when the examiner arrived. When I looked up, I realized he was explaining the first exam and such. Of course, I already knew what he was saying. I listened to others conversations. Mind games had also been part of the equation, but that's not really important.

I started to look over the examiner, sizing him up to see if he really was qualified. He had extremely long limbs. _That explains how he got here faster than a normal person. _As I looked over his face, I realized he had a mustache that seemed to be drawn onto his face. It moved as he talked. _But wait...he has no mouth. What the hell?! How is he talking with no mouth?! The examiners are so weird this year..._

While I had been trying to figure out how the hell he was able to talk, I realized the exam had started. We followed him, slowly picking up the pace to a run. There were probably over four hundred applicants. I had a lot of competition, but that didn't stop me. _Here we go. Let the games begin._

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***Hisoka fangirls, please don't kill me for this!**

**A/N: Like I said, this chapter kind of drags on. At least it's a bit longer than the prologue, though. Eren has a bit of an ego XD she doesn't really seem threatened by anyone. Although, she does have her fears. So, what do you guys think of her so far? **


	3. Friend or Foe?

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to update. I was busy *cough*procrastination*cough*. Anyways, I'm back now and this chapter actually turned out a bit longer than expected. Sadly, none of Eren's famous glares are in this chapter. They will appear a lot more, though. Again, I kind of feel as if this drags on. It will get better though. That's a promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter. The day I own Hunter X Hunter will be the day Kurapika stops being feminine.**

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**II. Friend or Foe?**

_Focus. Follow the rhythm and movement, just like music. _This was my main thought while running. During the first hour or two, it felt as if nobody was around me. I was focused only on passing this phase. But, like an idiot, I was a bit too concentrated on passing and not enough on where I was going.

After people had begun dropping out, they lay on the ground like dead bodies. The only difference is that these guys were clearly breathing. Unfortunately, I tripped over someone. This caused the headphones around my neck to go flying. They skidded across the ground, and stopped at someone's feet. _Well that did some damage to them. Those were new, too,_ I thought with a small pout showing on my face.

I stood up, dusting off my black shorts and re-arranging my side-braid so that my hair was out if my face. When I looked up, there was a spiky-haired boy standing before me with my headphones in his hand. He was about half an inch shorter than me, and had a big smile on his face. "Here. You dropped these," he said as he handed them to me. "Uh...thanks," I mumbled, putting them back around my neck.

Glancing ahead, I noticed that there were two others waiting for him. _Oh, right! He was part of the trio, _I reminded myself. "C'mon, Gon! We have to catch up with the group," a very feminine blonde called to him. _Their voice is distinctly guy-ish. Otherwise, I would thing that's a girl, _I thought to myself. "Okay, just a second," Gon called back. Then he turned to me, still smiling innocently. "Are you okay? Your knee is bleeding," he pointed out. _Damn. I never noticed..._ "It's just a scratch. I can take care of it later. We should catch up, though." He nodded, and we began running to the rest of the group.

As soon as we caught up with Gon's friends, I realized Tonpa was with them. _Just great. That's just one more reason to ditch them as soon as possible, _I thought, mentally rolling my eyes.

It wasn't long until we caught up with the other examinees. After I learned their names, I tried losing Gon and the others in the crowd. Suddenly, a voice came into my head. '_Eren, be sure to bring some friends back. I'm tired of seeing you alone all the time' sorry, grandma, I made no promises._

I succeeded in escaping the trio. In fact, I saw them pass me at one point. But, there was something else. Something was...off. There was a sickly sweet smell coming from a separate tunnel up ahead, and there were voices and screams coming from inside it. _Wait...double take. That smell is familiar, and those voices are familiar, too._ I paused for a moment. _There's no way...but it is possible. _As I got closer, I heard names being called. "Kurapika! Leorio!" _That's Gon._

Without thinking, I ran in after them. _I really am reckless. But, I recognize that smell now. If I'm going to try to play the hero in this, I've got to hurry. For now, I'll jst breathe through my mouth. It slows down the effects, _I told myself.

I sprinted through the tunnel. The deeper I went, the stronger the smell. I remembered back when I was trained that my dad told me about this. It's a sap that produces a smell. That smell is so sickly sweet that its natural instinct to be around it, and smell it. Un fortunately, if you stick around too long, you're driven to the brink of insanity. The smell triggers your worst memories, and makes them even worse to the point that you can't take it. I shuddered at the thought. _I can't let that happen to me. I've just got to keep_ going.

Eventually, I passed a kid with messy white hair that was threatening Tonpa. He was scaring the guy pretty bad. _Serves him right. _The kid didn't see me pass him. He was either too focused on Tonpa or he didn't even hear my footsteps. I took a glance at him as I passed. _He was the kid that was talking to Gon earlier. This is a completely different side of him than what I saw earlier, _I thought.

Soon after that, I reached Gon. When he saw me it looked as if he was going to call my name, but stopped himself. _Right. He still doesn't know my name._

"How long has he been like this?" I asked Gon before he could explain. Gon didn't even have a chance to answer before the white-haired kid came and kicked Kurapika across the face. _Well that's one way to snap him out of it,_ I thought, cringing a little. _That's got to hurt. _Gon's eyes widened in surprise. "Relax, just watch," I told him. Kurapika stood up, rubbing his head where he was kicked. He gave us a questioning glance. The boy just casually went to pick up his skateboard as if he did nothing.

"He's back to normal. Thanks, er...I never got you're names," Gon said, pointing to the other boy and I. "My name's Killua," he said. "I'm Eren." Killua scoffed. "Isn't that a guy's name?" My fist clenched and unclenched. _I shouldn't hit him. Yet. _"I'll have you know that it's the twenty-first century. My name is more commonly used as a girl's name now." He backed off after hearing my statement.

I sighed in annoyance. "We don't have time for this. We have to get out of here and catch up with the group really fast. Any ideas?" Killua pulled out something small and metal from his pocket. "Bombs, eh? Well played. Alright, let's set them off," I said excitedly. It had been a while since I got my hands on a bomb. Killua nodded, and there was a small click before he threw the bombs. It blew up the wall , and sent us flying.

After we burst through the wall we ran into Leorio, Gon's other friend. "What happened to me?' he asked us. "You were hallucinating. We got tricked by Tonpa," Gon explained. "That was a dirty trick," Leorio said with anger showing in his voice. "He's called the 'Rookie Crusher' for a reason. Anyways, we've got to get out of here," I said, and turned to Killua. There was another small click as he prepared the second round of bombs. "What was that? I heard a click," Leorio questioned. Before he got an answer we were sent flying through another wall after the bombs set off.

When I looked up, the examiner was standing over me with a confused look. _He must be wondering how we got out alive. Either way, He's a lot taller from the ground, _I thought as I looked up nervously. Quickly, I stood up and walked away.

As expected, Leorio tried to start a fight with Tonpa as soon as they made eye contact. He ran to him, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and started shouting at him. I didn't really have any particular interest in that, though. I began to focus on ignoring my thoughts.

_Admit it, you want friends.  
No, I don't.  
You know I'm right.  
Just shut the hell up_

I paused for a moment and chuckled silently. I was actually arguing with myself. It's like my heart was saying one thing, and my mind was saying another. Stuff like that happened all the time.

After shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I realized that we had began running again. _I really need to stop over thinking. It'll get me into trouble. _Suddenly my father's voice came into my head. _Yes, but so will recklessness. _I mentally face-palmed. _I really am thinking too much if I'm hearing that bastard's voice again, _I told myself.

The examiner's voice broke me from my thoughts. "We've reached the last stretch," he called to us. My face instantly lit up, and I began to speed up. "Finally, I can get out of this dusty tunnel," I muttered.

I sprinted as fast as I could towards the light of the outside. Once I stepped out, I was surrounded by a thick, heavy fog. "Oh, great. Please tell me that we're waiting until this fog clears," I pleaded the examiner. "That we are doing. Just relax a little until then," he told me. I nodded, still amazed that he could talk with no mouth.

After I went to sit down, examinees began to gather, and the fog cleared a little. Now everything was at least moderately visible. A metal door to the tunnel began closing as the examiner called our attention. "Welcome to the Numere Wetlands, also know as Swindler's Swamp," he announced. "Here, animals will use every trick in the book to deceive you."

His explanation was interrupted by a guy shouting. Everyone turned in his direction as he came from the side of the tunnel entrance. He was mangled and beaten. He looked as if he were going to die soon. Then I noticed that he was carrying some type of animal that looked like a monkey, but its body type and face looked the same as the examiner's. "Don't believe him. I'm the real examiner. He beat me and took my place. He's really one of these," the man shouted as he held up the animal. I resisted the urge to laugh. _Who does this guy think he's fooling?_ When I glanced around it seemed as if everyone but me believed him. "He's going to trick you into going into the forest where other animals will help him make you the prey," he told us.

Then, out of nowhere, cards flew through the air and hit the man in the chest. He fell dead to the ground. When I turned towards the examiner, he had a few cards in his hand. Then I turned a little more to see the clown guy shuffling cards with a majorly creepy grin on his face. I shuddered and focused my gaze back to the dead man who was now being eaten by some strange birds. People around me whispered things like, "nature is so cruel". _If they're scared by this, they'll never pass the exam._

The examiner calmly went back to his explanation as if nothing happened. Apparently this wasn't the site of the second phase. It was just the second part of the fist phase. We had to run through a marsh for God knows how much longer. _Ugh, you've got to be kidding me, _I thought with a sigh as we started running again.


End file.
